1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to the field of drywall installation and more particularly to a new roller and edge finisher system that allows fast accurate installation of inside and outside regular corners and bull nose corners.
2. Description of Related Art
The use of gypsum drywall board in modern construction is well known. Manufactured drywall sheets are nailed to studs to form interior walls and ceilings. Before these sheets can be painted or textured, the joints must be taped and sealed with joint sealing compound (drywall mud). Taping (known as stringing) is a tedious process since first tape and mud must be dispensed with a tool known as a bazooka, then the worker rolls and glazes the tape while the mud is wet. As the tape strings out, it has a tendency to pull in the direction of motion.
Many seams are finished with a product known as flex bead. This is usually first attached over the seam by nailing and then coated with drywall mud. After the mud is dry, it is sanded and finished several times, and then painted or textured.
A new system of interior and exterior flex trim material has been invented that can be constructed from a laminate of paper-plastic-paper or paper-plastic that is finished as soon as it is installed. This material can be tapered or beveled so that its edges can be xe2x80x9ckilledxe2x80x9d with a small amount of drywall mud and a wide blade knife, or other, tool. This leads to a finished seam or corner with the material blending or feathered into the drywall sheet. The finished seam or corner is ready to paint or texture as soon as the mud drys with little or no sanding.
Using this new technology can be made even easier and more accurate with the use of special roller tools that are perfectly adapted to press the inside or outside corner tightly into the mud. Also feathering and killing of the edges with this new technology can be automated with an automated edge finishing tool.
The present invention relates to a system of roller tools and an edge finisher that can be used with prefabricated drywall corners, both regular, and bull nose. The roller is equipped with wheels that are designed to match the taper of the surface of the prefabricated drywall corner. The body of the roller is flexible so that the device can match corners that are not square and corners that are not perfect 90 degree angles. The flexibility can be achieved from slots cut in the body between the wheels or along the body. The wheels are thus mounted on a relatively smaller portion of the body and hence can flex to different angles from less than 84 degrees to over 96 degrees. The edge finisher is a mud application box that can be used with any type of corner and is designed to finish the edges with no handwork.
The edge finisher has a box for drywall mud with a front door that unlocks and swings open allowing the tool to be loaded with drywall mud and cleaned after the job. The tool also has interchangeable doors with different size openings, one size for initial feathering and a different size for final feathering.
After mud has been applied to the corner, a prefabricated corner piece is pushed into place by hand. Then the roller invention is run along the interior or exterior seam. There are two embodiments of the roller, one for inside and one for outside corners. The optionally tapered wheels can match the taper of the corner piece, and the piece is pushed tightly against the seam by the force on the rollers. The piece is then ready for finishing by killing the edges. For any corner, one loads drywall mud into the edge finishing tool and runs it along the edge. The tool can be equipped with a set of wheels to make this process easier. The tool applies exactly the right amount of mud and exactly the right pressure to feather the corner. The process should be repeated twice with two different doors on the tool for initial feathering and final feathering. The major feature of the edge finisher is the ability to open the doors wide for mud loading and for cleaning.